Here’s some news you may have missed…
The FBI authorized informants to break the law 22,800 times over four years, report Layer 8’s Dell Cameron and Patrick Howell O’Neill. Documents obtained by Layer 8 through the Freedom of Information Act show informants committed 5,649 acts of so-called “otherwise criminal activity” in 2013 and 5,577 such acts in 2014. Previous reporting by USA Today and the Huffington Post show similar figures for 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Russian hackers targeted the New York Times and other news outlets, U.S. officials say. As Howell O’Neill reports for Layer 8, hacking journalists can reveal ample confidential information between reporters and their sources. Details about who exactly was compromised remain sparse.
ISIS militants have taken their particular brand of horrors another step into the abyss, reports Mary Emily O’Hara in IRL, by executing two of its members for allegedly being gay.
In other ridiculous news, Microsoft just released an adult-sized Xbox onesie, reports Colette Bennett for Parsec. It has embroidered pockets! Hey, since people are now starting to stagger back to their couches after a month-long Pokémon Go binge, at least they can have something new to wipe their Cheeto fingers on.
Speaking of Cheetos, scientists now have a better understanding of how our brains process language while on LSD, reports Parsec’s Cynthia McKelvey. What do Cheetos and acid have to do with each other? Nothing, just like the science shows, which is why I shouldn’t be writing this while tripping.
The ironic commentary on public grieving that is Harambe died today, reports Unclick’s Gabe Bergado. The Cincinnati Zoo shut down its Twitter account due to the incessant barrage of Harambe trolling that bubbled up following the killing of the zoo’s great ape after a 3-year-old boy fell in Harmabe’s enclosure earlier this year.
There may be justice in this world after all. Christine Friar reports for Upstream that Kim Kardiashian is in hot water for posting photos to Instagram that promote products without disclosing that they are effectively paid advertisements, according to the watchdog group Truth in Advertising. The Federal Trade Commission has been alerted.
Fun fact: Money makes a terrible fan.
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WikiLeaks exposed the personal information of hundreds of people, “including sick children, rape victims and mental health patients.” The leaked information outed gay men in Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality may be punishable by death. –via Raphael Satter and Maggie Michael, Associated Press
Visit Miami while you still can. Rising sea levels due to climate change means much of South Florida will be underwater by the end of this century. –via Maddie Stone, Gizmodo
Hillary Clinton has a new problem. More than half the people she met with during her tenure as secretary of state donated money to the Clinton Foundation. The 85 people contributed as much as $156 million. –via Stephen Braun and Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press
Roger Ailes wasn’t the only man at Fox News allegedly treating women like crap. A new lawsuit filed in New York claims Bill O’Reilly sexually harassed former host Andrea Tantaros and banned her from appearing on his show after she complained. –via Judd Legum, Think Progress
Millennials really suck at vacation, and they’re ruining it for the rest of us. –via Christopher Tkaczyk, Travel & Liesure
